Business News

[Charliegrover]

Oil Prices Rise After Iraq Missile Attacks


Oil prices have risen after two bases hosting US troops in Iraq were hit by ballistic missiles. Brent crude was up by 1.4% at $69.21 per barrel in the middle of the Asian trade, easing back from earlier gains. So-called safe-haven assets, like gold and the Japanese yen, also rose on the news. At the same time, global stock prices were sent lower on concerns over the growing conflict in the Middle East. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index fell by 1.3%, and Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down 0.8%. Iranian state television said the attack was a retaliation for the killing of the country's top commander Qasem Soleimani.

[Charliegrover]

Greggs Staff To Get £300 Bonus After 'phenomenal Year'


Thousands of Greggs staff are set to get a £300 one-off payment after a "phenomenal year", the firm said. Sales growth had been helped by Greggs' "now-iconic" vegan sausage rolls and strong demand for its traditional snacks, the bakery chain said. Greggs staff will share a £7m payment after shareholders received a £35m special dividend in October. The firm expects underlying annual pre-tax profit to be ahead of its expectations when it reports in March. The 19,000 Greggs staff who have been with the chain since before 31 March will get a £300 windfall at the end of January, while the remaining 6,000 will get £75 for each quarter they have worked for Greggs. The one-off payment to staff will be on top of the profit-sharing scheme that Greggs already has, a spokeswoman said. The bakery chain already shares 10% of profits with employees, she said. "Our record financial performance in 2019 has enabled us to enhance returns to shareholders," said chief executive Roger Whiteside. "I am delighted to announce that we will also be making a special additional payment to all of our colleagues across the business who have worked so hard to deliver this success in what has been a phenomenal year."

[Albert Davis]

Markets wobble as Iran strikes US forces; telecom stocks spurt



Equity benchmarks clawed back most of their lost ground to end modestly lower on Wednesday as global markets were whiplashed by a fresh wave of volatility after Iran launched retaliatory strikes against US forces in Iraq.
Equity benchmarks clawed back most of their lost ground to end modestly lower on Wednesday as global markets were whiplashed by a fresh wave of volatility after Iran launched retaliatory strikes against US forces in Iraq.

After plunging nearly 400 points in early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex stabilized to finally settle 51.73 points, or 0.13 percent, down at 40,817.74.

Similarly, the broader Nifty shed 27.60 points, or 0.23 percent, to finish at 12,025.35.

[Charliegrover]

British Airways Owner's Boss Willie Walsh To Step Down



Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG), the owner of British Airways, has announced he is to step down. He is set to retire as chief executive and from the board of IAG on 30 June. Mr Walsh said it had been a privilege to have worked on the creation of IAG after British Airways (BA) and Iberia were merged. Antonio Vázquez, IAG's chairman, described Mr Walsh as one of the "main drivers" of the project. Mr Walsh became the British Airways boss in 2005 and is ending a 15-year career with the IAG group, which also controls Aer Lingus and Vueling. He will step down from the role in March before retiring in June this year. Mr Walsh said: "It has been a privilege to have been instrumental in the creation and development of IAG. I have had the pleasure of working with many exceptional people over the past 15 years at British Airways and at IAG." Willie Walsh is a long-standing figure in the aviation industry. He joined Aer Lingus in the late 1970s as a cadet pilot.

[Charliegrover]

M&S Sales Squeezed As Men Shun Skinny Trousers



M&S said it overestimated demand for tight-fitting men's clothing in the run-up to Christmas. As a result, the High Street retailer said it had ordered more "regular" and "relaxed-fit" clothing for spring. M&S boss, Steve Rowe, said "disappointing" issues, such as the surplus of skinny menswear, held the firm back from a stronger performance over Christmas. Weak sales in clothing and homeware were offset by higher food sales.

[Charliegrover]

Boeing Faces Fine For 737 Max Plane 'designed By Clowns'



US regulators are seeking to fine Boeing $5.4m (£4.14m) for "knowingly" installing faulty parts on 737 Max planes. The move comes after the release of internal messages that raised more questions about the jet's safety. In one of the communications, an employee said the plane was "designed by clowns". Boeing has been under scrutiny since the fatal crashes of two 737 Max planes, which killed 346 people. The fine announced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday is not connected to the software system that investigators have implicated in those crashes. It concerns "slat tracks" that are located on the wings.

The FAA said the company submitted the jets for FAA approval despite determining that the wing parts had failed a strength test. It also accused Boeing of failing to oversee its suppliers properly. The planemaker has the right to contest the penalty, which follows a $3.9m fine the FAA proposed against the US aerospace giant for similar reasons last month. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The announcement heightens the pressure on the company, which is now facing multiple investigations following the 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Last month, the company fired chief executive Dennis Muilenburg. The firm said Friday it had denied him severance and that he had forfeited stock awards worth about $14.6m.

[Charliegrover]

Robert Burns 'worth more than £200m to the Scottish economy'



The economic and cultural importance of Robert Burns is worth £203m to Scotland each year, according to a new report. The University of Glasgow study found that the "worldwide fascination" with the poet supports Scottish businesses. It showed that investments in Scotland to recognise the bard, including the opening of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, have helped increase his value. The report includes a number of recommendations to help grow the value of Burns' brand for Scotland. The biggest economic benefit is Burns-related tourism, which brings in just under £155m, almost two-thirds of which goes to Ayrshire and Arran where the poet was born and lived most of his life. More than £200m is made through tourism, products and festivals celebrating the poet, and researchers also estimated that the Burns' brand is worth an additional £140m each year.

Prof Murray Pittock, who led the research, said the Scottish poet "still holds a huge fascination for a worldwide audience". "Burns has universal appeal with his work being translated into every single major language including Russian, German, French and Chinese. While Auld Lang Syne is our New Year anthem and has been performed by everyone from Elvis Presley to Jimi Hendrix." "We hope that our research will help to inform and encourage Scotland to continue to develop plans to promote Burns at home and abroad. It also shows the great potential of Burns' brand to support regional inclusive growth from hotels and restaurants to food, drink and memorabilia."

[Charliegrover]

Former Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg leaves with $62m



Former Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg has left the company with $62m (£48m) in compensation and pension benefits. Mr Muilenburg will not receive severance pay, according to a regulatory filing by Boeing. Boeing fired Mr Muilenburg in December to restore confidence in the firm after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max plane. It said that Mr Muilenburg received the benefits he was "contractually entitled to" and that no annual bonus was paid. In addition to the $62m in compensation and pension benefits, Mr Muilenburg holds stock options that would have been worth $18.5m at the closing price on Friday.

The planemaker also confirmed that David Calhoun, its new boss, could receive a bonus of $7m, subject to whether or not he can get the 737 Max flying safely again. Boeing said it was confident that Mr Calhoun was the right person "to strengthen Boeing's safety culture, improve transparency and rebuild trust". He was appointed as chief executive and president of Boeing having served on the firm's board since 2009. The figures were disclosed during a difficult week for the planemaker when internal messages were released that raised further questions over the jet's safety. An employee said the plane was "designed by clowns" in one of the communications. Boeing has faced scrutiny since the fatal crashes of two 737 Max planes, which killed nearly 350 people. It is facing multiple investigations following the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

[Charliegrover]

Yusaku Maezawa: Japanese Billionaire Seeks 'Life Partner' For Moon Voyage


Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is looking for a female "life partner" to accompany him on Space X's maiden tourist voyage to the Moon. The fashion mogul, 44, is set to be the first civilian passenger to fly around the moon on the Starship rocket. Planned for 2023, the mission will be the first lunar journey by humans since 1972. In an online appeal, Mr Maezawa says he wants to share the experience with a "special" woman. The entrepreneur, who recently split up from actress girlfriend Ayame Goriki, 27, has asked women to apply for a "planned match-making event" on his website. "As feelings of loneliness and emptiness slowly begin to surge upon me, there's one thing that I think about: Continuing to love one woman," Mr Maezawa wrote on the website. "I want to find a 'life partner'," Mr Maezawa added. "With that future partner of mine, I want to shout our love and world peace from outer space." The website features a list of conditions and a schedule for the three-month-long application process. Written in a dating profile-style, the conditions say applicants must be single, over the age of 20, always positive and have an interest in going to space. The deadline for applications is 17 January and a final decision on Mr Maezawa's partner will be made at the end of March.

[Charliegrover]

Trump launches fresh attack on Apple over privacy



US President Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on Apple. He tweeted that the company was refusing to unlock iPhones "used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements". On Monday US Attorney General William Barr accused Apple of not being helpful in an inquiry into a shooting that is being treated as a terrorist act. It is the latest in a series of clashes between the White House and technology giants over access to data. Mr Trump accused Apple of refusing to co-operate with investigators despite his administration helping the company on trade and other issues. This is not the first time Apple has clashed with the US justice department. After a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California in 2015, in which 14 people were killed and 22 others were seriously injured, Apple refused to help gain access to the gunman's iPhone. The US government ended up paying another company a reported $1m (£770,000) to develop software to get around the device's encryption. The disputes highlight the ongoing disagreement between the technology industry and law enforcement agencies around the world. On one side encryption plays a crucial role in protecting people's privacy, on the other it can cause major issues for criminal investigators.

[Charliegrover]

Disney Culls 'Fox' From 20th Century Fox In Rebrand



Disney executives have cut the word "Fox" from their 20th Century Fox film studio in an apparent bid to distance it from operations of the previous owner, Rupert Murdoch. US media suggests Disney does not want to it to be associated with the media mogul's highly partisan, right-wing Fox News network. However, Disney has not clarified its reasons. It bought the studio, with other media operations, in a $71bn deal last March.

20th Century Fox is known for producing some of the biggest films of all-time, including Avatar and Titanic. Variety magazine, which broke the news about the name change, said it had spoken to an unnamed Disney source, who said: "I think the Fox name means Murdoch, and that is toxic." Hollywood is known for being liberal, unlike the Australian tycoon. Disney has also renamed Fox Searchlight Pictures, the arthouse arm, as simply Searchlight Pictures.

[Charliegrover]

Microsoft Makes 'Carbon Negative' Pledge



Microsoft has pledged to remove "all of the carbon" from the environment that it has emitted since the company was founded in 1975. Chief executive Satya Nadella said he wanted to achieve the goal by 2050. To do so, the company aims to become "carbon negative" by 2030, removing more carbon from the environment than it emits. That goes beyond a pledge by its cloud-computing rival Amazon, which intends to go "carbon neutral" by 2040. "When it comes to carbon, neutrality is not enough," said Microsoft president Brad Smith. "The carbon in our atmosphere has created a blanket of gas that traps heat and is changing the world's climate," he added in a blog. "If we don't curb emissions, and temperatures continue to climb, science tells us that the results will be catastrophic." The company also announced it was setting up a $1bn (£765m) climate innovation fund to develop carbon-tackling technologies.

[Charliegrover]

Uber Sells Its India Food Delivery Business To Zomato


Uber has sold its food delivery service in India to local rival Zomato, the firms have announced. Uber will get a 9.99% stake in the Indian start-up, helping it maintain its presence in the sector. All Uber Eats customers in India will now be redirected to Zomato but it's unclear if the acquisition will cause lay-offs. The deal is likely to give Zomato an edge over its rival Swiggy is a fast-growing but fiercely-contested sector. Zomato operates in more than 500 cities in India and the firm believes that the acquisition will further consolidate its presence."We are proud to have pioneered restaurant discovery and to have created a leading food delivery business across India. This acquisition significantly strengthens our position in the category," Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO of Zomato, said. Uber Eats launched in India in 2017 with a promise to revolutionise the sector. The San Francisco-based company has since been trying to increase its customer base but faced tough competition from Zomato and Swiggy.

Darshini Kansara, an analyst with CARE Ratings, said that Swiggy and Zomato both had a better grip on the Indian market. "Even though Uber Eats had the advantage of 'global experience', the Indian market is very different from a developed market - the price points and strategies. Other factors like having an interactive app where customers can post photographs and review food items and tie-ups with restaurants gave Zomato and Swiggy an edge." Uber said India would continue to be its priority. "India remains an exceptionally important market to Uber and we will continue to invest in growing our local rides business, which is already the clear category leader," Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, said. Correspondents say the deal will further intensify the competition between Zomato and Swiggy.

[Charliegrover]

Facebook Creates 1,000 New UK Job



Facebook will create 1,000 new roles in London over the course of this year, including adding to its team tackling harmful online content. More than half of the new jobs will be technology-focused, with roles in software engineering, product design and data science, the company said. It will take Facebook's UK workforce to more than 4,000. Pressure has been growing on social media firms to remove posts promoting self-harm and political extremism. Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg will announce the new jobs in London later on Tuesday, before travelling to the World Economic Forum in Davos. "Many of these high-skilled jobs will help us address the challenges of an open internet and develop artificial intelligence to find and remove harmful content more quickly," she is expected to say.

Those roles will be in Facebook's "community integrity" team, which designs tools to police posts on Facebook's platforms including Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. The firm had decided to invest more in policing online content, following the suicide of teenager Molly Russell in 2017, Steve Hatch, the firm's vice-president for northern Europe, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "The tragic death of Molly Russell made us really stop in our tracks as a company and acknowledge that there was an issue that we need to do more on. "We've been putting those changes in place steadily over the last 12 months," he said. Facebook aimed to build on the progress it had made in tackling terrorist content to remove other problematic content such as self-harming, Mr Hatch said. The firm had detected and removed two million posts from Facebook and 800,000 from Instagram, he added. "As systems get better they develop, they get better and more effective," he said. "Our aspiration is to remove every single piece of [harmful] content."

[Amelie Barrett]

Facebook targets UK growth with 1,000 hires this year

Facebook targets UK growth with 1,000 hires this year

LONDON- Facebook will hire 1,000 people in London this year in roles such as product development and safety as it continues to grow its biggest engineering centre outside the United States after Britain leaves the European Union.UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Facebook's growth was "great news". "We are committed to making the UK the safest place in the world to be online, alongside being one of the best places for technology companies to be based," he said.

[Amelie Barrett]

Jaguar Land Rover to cut over 10% of workforce at UK Halewood factory: Union

LONDON: British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said on Wednesday it will cut around 10% of the workforce at its northern English Halewood factory as it changes shift patterns to boost efficiency at the site.

The Unite Union said the cuts were linked to slower than forecast growth of the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport vehicles, which are made at the plant. The company said the decision was not related to loss of volumes.

JLR posted a 6% decline in 2019 sales "Jaguar Land Rover is taking action to optimise performance, enable sustainable growth and safeguard the long-term success of our business," the company said in a statement.

"Central to the Halewood manufacturing strategy, we are moving from a three shift to a “two-plus” shift pattern from April 2020."

Around 4,5000 people work at the Halewood factory, one of three of JLR's car factories in Britain, with roughly 500 jobs affected by Wednesday's announcement.

[Amelie Barrett]

Stocks and oil slump on fears over China virus outbreak – business live

Brexit uncertainty plus political turmoiled equalled financial distress for almost half a million British businesses in the final three months of last year, according to a new survey which measures corporate health.

About 494,000 companies were found to be in significant distress in the last quarter of 2019 by the latest red flag alert from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, representing about 14% of all economically active firms and the highest number since the survey began in 2004. Significant distress is described as firms which have county court judgments of of less than £5000 filed against them, or businesses which have been identified by its credit risk system.


Retail, real estate and property and construction sectors suffered more than others, although significant distress at businesses rose in 15 out of 22 sectors of the economy. The highest year-on-year increase in the number of businesses suffering significant financial distress was seen in the real estate and property sector, with a 13% rise in the number of businesses affected. The survey finds financial difficulties affecting both bricks-and-mortar and online retailers.

[owenmarsden]

Robert Downey Jr Net Worth: Whopping Fortune Revealed

Robert Downey Jr. is an actor who is well-known for appearing in films including Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes. He has previously landed the top spot of Forbes list of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. How much money has he made. The actor has an astounding fortune of around £229million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.From 2013 to 2015, he was listed by Forbes as Hollywood’s highest paid actor. His films have grossed around £11billion worldwide which has made him the fifth highest-grossing box office star of all time.

[rosiebaxter990]

UK Supermarkets Suffer As Shoppers Shun Booze And Meat



Britain’s supermarkets suffered a slow start to 2020 as shoppers embraced the “Dry January” and “Veganuary” campaigns to shun alcohol and meat, industry data showed on Tuesday. Market researcher Kantar said total UK grocery sales rose just 0.3% in the 12 weeks to Jan. 26, with the traditional “big four” supermarket groups all-seeing year-on-year sales declines.

The researcher said No. 2 player Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L), which last month named a new CEO, was the least bad performer of the big four with a sales decline of 0.6%. Industry leader Tesco (TSCO.L), Walmart-owned (WMT.N) Asda and Morrisons (MRW.L) saw sales fall of 0.9%, 2.2% and 3.0% respectively. Kantar said grocery inflation was 1.0% over the 12 weeks. Prices are rising fastest in categories such as bacon, sausages and cooked meat while falling in butter and fresh poultry.

[owenmarsden]

Tesla Shares Soar 40% After Analyst Says Firm’s Value Could Hit $1.3tn



Tesla shares have soared 40% in two days, after one US analyst predicted the electric carmaker could transform global transport and that its market value could soar to $1.3tn (£1tn) in less than five years. Shares in the 17-year-old California company rose by 17% to $912 a share on Tuesday, giving Tesla a market value of $164bn – more than the $104bn combined value of Detroit’s big three: General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler. The share price surge on Tuesday came on top of a near-20% rise in the stock on Monday. It has now more than doubled since December, as the company has reported stronger-than-expected sales and analysts predict it will streak away from traditional car companies in the development of electric vehicles. The extraordinary spike in the company’s value sets Elon Musk, Tesla’s maverick founder and chief executive, further on the path to collect up to $50bn in the largest corporate pay deal ever struck. Musk, who is already the world’s 22nd-richest person with a $41bn fortune, will collect the “staggering” bonus if Tesla becomes a $650bn company by 2028.

[rosiebaxter990]

Nissan Performs Uk's Longest And Most Complex Driverless Car Trip


A Nissan car has completed a 230-mile journey autonomously in Britain, the longest and most complex such trip in the country as carmakers race to develop driverless technologies which are revolutionising travel. The Nissan LEAF vehicle undertook the 370 km journey from the Japanese carmaker’s European technical centre in Cranfield, southern England, to its Sunderland factory in the north east, alongside conventional road users.

Nissan has previously said Britain’s flexible approach to testing autonomous vehicles helped it pick London for its first European tests in 2017 when a driverless vehicle travelled up to 50 miles per hour. “Safely completing the longest autonomous drive in Britain is an incredible achievement for Nissan and the HumanDrive consortium, and a huge step towards the rollout of driverless cars on UK streets,” said junior business minister Nadhim Zahawi.

[owenmarsden]

Experts Sound Alarm Over Pm's Pledge To 'level Up' UK Economy


It would take Boris Johnson two full terms as prime minister to fulfil his pledge to “level up” the British economy, according to one of the UK’s leading economic thinktanks. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said Johnson’s plans would probably take more than a decade to raise the level of economic output across the country, due to capacity constraints. In a warning before next month’s budget, Britain’s oldest economic thinktank said the government’s plan to raise investment in infrastructure projects by about £20bn per year would have only a modest impact on the UK’s dismal productivity levels. Sajid Javid, the chancellor, is expected to outline plans for a rise in government spending in order to meet Johnson’s promise made before the election.

[owenmarsden]

Amazon Choice Label Is Being 'gamed To Promote Poor Products'


Amazon is promoting poor-quality products with an “Amazon’s Choice” badge as cunning sellers manipulate the algorithmic recommendation system behind the label, according to research from the consumer rights group Which?. Many of the most popular items sold on Amazon.co.uk are labelled Amazon’s Choice, a thin blue badge that renders a product more visible on the search results page. Despite the name, Amazon does not actively select the products it declares its choice: the company instead automatically bestows the commendation on products that match an undisclosed set of criteria including good reviews, low price and fast shipping. That means that if unscrupulous sellers are able to generate good reviews for mediocre, unsuitable or dangerous products, they can succeed in getting their items the coveted label, Which? said.

[Charliegrover]

The Advantage Of Switching To The Cloud For Business


Has your business made the leap to the cloud yet? If not, it is about time that you took a look at some of the benefits this decision could have for you and your business. The cloud is one of the biggest technological innovations we have seen in the past few years and you should try to take advantage of it as soon as possible. Here are some of the reasons why you should move your company’s computing to the cloud.

Accessibility
The single biggest advantage of a cloud system is that you can access it from anywhere around the world at any time. If you have employees in different time zones, they can all be brought together to work on exactly the same platform.

Flexibility
The cloud is also extremely flexible. It is very easy to scale a cloud system up or down to meet the needs of your business. Unlike hardware which needs to be bought and sold during company reshuffles, a cloud just needs to be installed on the new machines.

Security
One of the biggest problems businesses can face is lost hardware. If your employee leaves their laptop on a train, it can mean a massive security compromise for the team. However, you can quickly fix this with the cloud as no sensitive data is stored on hardware anymore. You can even remotely wipe the compromised laptop if you need to.

Go Green
The cloud can also help you to move towards a more eco-friendly stance within your office. Going paperless is extremely beneficial as it allows you to organise your office and keep it clutter-free.

Increased Collaboration
Everyone in the company can see the work which needs to be done at all times. It is easier to share the workload and collaborate on projects if it is done through the cloud. Since everything is also updated in real-time, everyone is kept up to date with the goings-on of the company.


For more update stay connected with Megri Business Blog (https://www.megri.com/), that provides the latest business update.
Mobile: 07466 440 362
Email: info@megrisoft.com

[rosiebaxter990]

UK Markets Watchdog Tells Investment Platforms To Be 'impartial'

Investment platforms must document how they select, monitor and deselect funds from the “Best Buy” lists they market to customers, Britain’s markets watchdog said on Thursday. Investment platforms came under scrutiny in June when the flagship equities fund of then star stockpicker Neil Woodford was suspended after failing to meet redemption requests from investors. “Firms operating Best Buy lists must construct them impartially and manage conflicts, for example preference for funds offering discounts over formal and objective criteria, lack of independence of research teams and associated governance,” the FCA said in a letter to investment platforms.

[Amelie Barrett]

China to halve tariffs on some U.S. imports

China said on Thursday it will halve additional tariffs levied against 1,717 products imported from the United States last year, following the signing of a Phase 1 trade deal that brought a truce to a bruising trade war.

China's finance ministry said in a statement that tariff reductions for the relevant goods, which were implemented on Sept. 1, will take effect from 0501 GMT on Feb. 14.

[rosiebaxter990]

House Prices Rising At Fastest Rate In Two Years, Index Says

House prices rose in January at the fastest annual rate in two years, according to Halifax, although the mortgage lender said it was too early to tell if the property market had turned the corner after weakness seen in 2019. Annual growth in prices reached 4.1 per cent last month, the strongest year-on-year increase since February 2018. But the pace of rises slowed month-on-month, according to Halifax’s index. Prices increased on the month by 0.4 per cent in January compared with stronger gains of 1.8 per cent in December and 1.2 per cent in November.

The index is the latest to point to a possible upturn in the housing market following the general election. The number of sales rose by 6.2 per cent in December, according to HMRC, while surveyors’ organisation RICS saw an increase in both the number of property sales and new enquiries from potential buyers last month. The number of new homes starting to be built fell 7 per cent to 157,550 in the year to September, government figures showed last month, although the number of completions rose by 9 per cent compared to a decade high of 177,980. “However, instead of offering a route to building additional low cost homes, this policy simply puts at risk the social homes currently being built.”

[owenmarsden]

A Trade Deal With Trump’s America Would Shred Britain’s Climate Ambitions


Few things have loomed larger in Brexit imaginary than the stupendous trade deals the UK will get as soon as it frees itself from the thicket of European Union regulation. The government hopes to hash out deals with both the EU and the United States by the end of the year, when the transition period ends and Britain is no longer bound to Europe’s rules. An ambitious goal, but not impossible. President Trump is “bullish” on a UK deal, the American ambassador Woody Johnson recently said, adding that Trump, like the prime minister, wants to “get it done”. They make it sound so easy. And it’s true that Donald Trump has so far favoured quick and dirty deals with individual countries over complex, multinational agreements. But trade negotiations will also mean facing the world’s largest economy at the bargaining table alone, with little leverage and a ticking clock. The US will push aggressively against anything that blocks American companies from doing business here, and there are few things on which the two countries are more divided than climate policy.

[rosiebaxter990]

Warehouse Fire Pushes Ocado To £214m Loss

Ocado sunk to a £214.5m pre-tax loss last year, blaming costs from a fire that destroyed an automated warehouse in Andover, Hampshire last February. The loss for the 12 months to Dec 1 was nearly five times higher than the £44m for the previous 12 months. The FTSE 100 company blamed exceptional charges of £94.1m, most of which was due to the Andover fire, for falling further into the red. However, chief executive Tim Steiner said the results demonstrated strong momentum. Although statutory results reflected a combination of factors, including the impact of the Andover fire, the underlying performance of Ocado Retail and the successful growth of Ocado Solutions were very encouraging.

[rosiebaxter990]

Energy Customers To Receive Automatic Compensation For Delays In Switching Accounts

Energy companies will be forced to automatically compensate customers who experience delays or mistakes when switching supplier. Regulator Ofgem said its new compensation requirements would protect consumers and further boost confidence in the switching process. Customers will receive an automatic £30 payment from gas and electricity suppliers if their swap takes longer than 15 working days, if their final bill does not arrive within six weeks, or they are switched by mistake. Customers will receive an automatic £30 payment from gas and electricity suppliers if their swap takes longer than 15 working days, if their final bill does not arrive within six weeks, or they are switched by mistake. The requirements coming into force from 1 May will give customers further peace of mind that they will be compensated if something goes wrong when they change providers, Ofgem said. It added the move should serve as a wake-up call for suppliers to cut out problems for customers and get switching right first time.

[owenmarsden]

Call For Inquiry Into Government Funding Of Norton Motorcycles


The chair of parliament’s public accounts committee is calling for an investigation into the government’s funding of Norton Motorcycles and has accused officials of “blindly pouring” millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money into the motorbike firm before it went bust. Meg Hillier MP is to write to the department for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS), as well as the Cabinet Office, to ask for an inquiry into the events leading up to the failure of the Leicestershire-based manufacturing company last month.
The motorcycle firm had also been funded via a £1m loan received directly from a separate fraud, as well as about £5m of government grants. Aside from the millions in taxpayer support given to Norton, the business also benefited from a string of then government ministers showering the firm with glowing endorsements or agreeing to photo opportunities with the Norton boss Stuart Garner, including the prime minister Theresa May, the chancellor George Osborne, the business secretary Vince Cable and the trade secretary Liam Fox.

[rosiebaxter990]

Nissan Sues Fugitive Former Chairman Carlos Ghosn For £70m Over Alleged Misconduct

Nissan is suing its former chairman Carlos Ghosn, seeking 10bn yen (£70m) in damages it claims stem from “years of misconduct and fraudulent activity”. In a lawsuit filed in Yokohama District Court, the Japanese carmaker said it aims to “recover a significant part of the monetary damages inflicted on the company by its former chairman”. The executive who led Nissan for two decades is accused of understating his income and using company funds for events including his wedding at the Palace of Versailles in 2016. Nissan said it expects the claim to increase as it seeks to recover fines anticipated to be levied by regulators in relation to the scandal. Japanese authorities issued an arrest warrant for Mr Ghosn last month and a separate warrant for his wife for alleged perjury. Lebanon and Japan have no extradition treaty and Mr Ghosn is unlikely to be rearrested.

[rosiebaxter990]

RBS Changes Name To Natwest In Bid To Draw Line Under 12 Years Of Scandals And Taxpayer Bailout

Royal Bank of Scotland is to be renamed NatWest Group as the bank attempts to rescue its tarnished image after more than a decade of scandals and a £45bn taxpayer bailout. Howard Davies, the chairman of RBS, said that NatWest, one of its subsidiaries, was a more appropriate moniker for the bank, which has shed its riskier businesses to focus on the more mundane business of high-street lending. RBS announced on Friday that it would stop financing large oil companies such as Shell and BP unless they demonstrate that their business models align with the Paris climate agreement. RBS, which is still 62 per cent state-owned, will give major oil firms until 2021 to put “a credible plan” in place to reduce their impact on the climate. The axe is expected to fall on jobs within the RBS-owned loss-making NatWest Markets investment bank, which employs 5,000 people.

[rosiebaxter990]

Broadband, Mobile And Pay-TV Customers To Save Up To £1bn On Bills Under New Rules

Millions of customers are set to collectively save up to £1bn a year on the phone, broadband, mobile and TV bills under new rules which force providers to alert people when their contracts are ending. The new rules, which come into force on Saturday, could save some households more than £150 a year, industry regulator Ofcom said. Customers who do nothing when their minimum contract period ends are likely to continue on a monthly rolling deal and can face price increases or changes to their original deal. Under the controls, providers will need to tell them when their contract is up and what they have been paying until now - as well as the price they can expect to pay once their contract is over. The notification must also state any notice period for leaving their provider, the best deals available, and reveal any prices only available to new customers.

[Amelie Barrett]

Cathay Pacific issues profit warning after coronavirus hits service

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flag carrier airline, has issued a profit warning after the coronavirus outbreak forced it to cancel two in every five flights for February and March.

The Covid-19 virus had by Sunday infected 51,857 people worldwide, killing 1,669, according to the World Health Organization.

Efforts to contain the virus have caused large parts of the economy in China, where the outbreak originated, to grind to a halt and businesses across the world are still assessing the potential financial cost amid continued uncertainty.

[rosiebaxter990]

Apple Hits Stocks, Euro Near Three-Year Low

World stocks markets were knocked off record highs on Tuesday as two of the world’s mega companies reported damage from the coronavirus outbreak. Apple’s stock fell almost 6% in Frankfurt and all Europe’s main markets fell [.EU] after the iPhone maker warned it was unlikely to meet the March quarter sales guidance it had set just three weeks ago. HSBC announced a massive restructuring that involved shedding $100 billion of assets and slashing 35,000 jobs over three years. It also warned about the impact of the coronavirus on its Asia business. The stock fell more than 2% in Hong Kong trade. The warning from Apple sobered investors who had hoped stimulus from China and other countries would protect the global economy from the effects of the epidemic. The yen rose 0.15% to 109.69 yen per dollar JPY= while the risk- and China-sensitive Australian dollar lost 0.4% to $0.6686 AUD=D4. The yuan was steadier, trading at 6.9950 per dollar CNY=CFXS. “If Apple shares were traded cheaply, that might not matter much. But when they are trading at a record high, investors will be surely tempted to sell.”

[Amelie Barrett]

Wages back above pre-economic crisis levels
Weekly pay reached £512 in the three months to December, which - adjusting for inflation - is the highest since March 2008.

Excluding bonuses, earnings grew at an annual rate of 3.2% in the three-month period, official figures show.

Employment rose by 180,000 to another record high of 32.93 million, while unemployment stayed at 1.29 million.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the number of women in employment increased again - this time by 150,000 in the three months to December to a record high of 15.61 million.

[rosiebaxter990]

UK Climbs Ranking Of Tax Havens, Campaign Group Warns

The UK has become a more attractive haven for businesses and super-rich individuals looking to hide their finances from the rule of law, according to the Tax Justice Network (TJN), which it said raised serious concerns about Britain’s post-Brexit strategy. The TJN is now calling for sanctions against countries including the UK, US and the Cayman Islands for “backsliding” on transparency since 2018, just as other countries around the world became more open due to reforms such as automatic sharing of information about non-resident taxpayers. TJN said the UK performed poorly due to more rigorous methodology used for the 2020 report. A spokesperson explained that the UK’s ranking was also affected by historical changes to reporting rules that govern how multinational corporations are required to provide information on their operations in different countries.

[Amelie Barrett]

Coronavirus fear returns to stock markets

London's FTSE 100 share index fell more than 3% and there were similar declines in other European markets.

In the US, upbeat data on hiring and unemployment failed to buoy investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed almost 1% lower, while the Nasdaq slumped 1.8% and S&P 500 ended down 1.7%. The monthly report from the US Labor Department found US employers added 273,000 jobs in February - significantly beating expectations - while the jobless rate fell back to near a 50-year low of 3.5%.The report also revised up estimates of job gains in January and December, finding 85,000 more than previously understood.

[tracym]

Oil prices have receded, after rising following an Iranian attack on two bases hosting US troops in Iraq.

[joselync]

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